A cathedral dating back almost 1,000 years is being successfully maintained with the help of a Hinowa spider lift.
Teams dedicated to conserving Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire are using the Hinowa Lightlift 14.70 IIIS for multiple maintenance tasks both inside and outside of the ancient building.
The spider lift, supplied by Access Platform Sales, is also used to carry out maintenance work at height on 35 properties in and around the Cathedral Close.
Purchase of the Hinowa spider boom was made possible by a donation from the Friends of Winchester Cathedral, a charity that raises funds to support its upkeep.
Joe Meader, head carpenter and works manager at Winchester Cathedral, said, “We’re so grateful to the Friends for their assistance. Our Hinowa spider lift is vital to our maintenance programme. It allows us to complete a huge range of works in a timely, safe and cost-effective way.
“The cathedral is Grade I listed, and we maintain other Grade I and Grade II listed buildings, so having a spider lift to work from allows us to inspect and repair structures a minimum of physical intervention, which is very helpful.”
Bruce Parker, chairman of the Friends of Winchester Cathedral, added, “We have provided the cathedral with many pieces of useful equipment over the years but none so versatile as this latest tracked cherry picker.”
APS regional sales manager Jonathan Wiseman stated, “To see the way this Hinowa platform plays such a pivotal role at cathedral as iconic and important as Winchester is truly impressive. The extra effort that would be needed, and the cost incurred, to achieve the same maintenance standards if it wasn’t available would be truly enormous.”
The Hinowa Lightlift 14.70 has a maximum working height of 13.9m and a maximum outreach of 6.76m, with a basket capacity of 120kg. It has an outreach of 5.92m with a basket capacity of 200kg.
At just 786mm wide, APS said it can be tracked into the tightest of spaces, making it ideal for working in and around the cathedral, which has many nooks and crannies.
The new spider lift replaces a Hinowa Goldlift 14.70 spider lift that the cathedral maintenance team had been using for around 20 years. Joe Meader added, “Our new Hinowa Lightlift 14.70 has about the same working envelope, but has new features that make it much easier to use and more productive, including dual speed tracking and one button outrigger levelling and stowing. We’re very pleased with it.”
The Lightlift 14.70 spider lift is kept busy all year round. Over summer it was used by the cathedral’s carpenters and painters and decorators who have replaced and painted wooden windows in a 17th Century house in Dome Alley just off the Cathedral Close. In the autumn, it is handed over to the landscape maintenance teams to manage shrubbery and trees. Throughout the year, stonemasons use the machine to inspect, clean and repair stone work and stained glass windows.
The cathedral has selected a bi-energy version of the platform. It can be powered with by a low-emissions Honda petrol or by 110v mains cable electricity for indoor operations or where near-silent working is required. The Hinowa Lightlift 14.70 can also be supplied with a diesel engine and mains cable electric power, or as an all-electric powered platform with lithium batteries.
